President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah arrived in Windhoek today after concluding a state visit to China.

The President and her delegation spent a week in China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Upon her arrival, Dr Nandi-Ndaitwah emphasised the significance of the state visit.

While noting that political relations between the two countries remain strong, she underscored the need to strengthen balanced economic cooperation that delivers mutual benefits.

"But then economically now, we know that the statistics are telling us the trade between Namibia and China has increased in recent years. But it is not balanced, because it is more that China has imported more goods from Namibia than Namibia has imported from China. And the goods that are imported are mineral-based. So that's why, as you know, our government now has adopted the policy of value addition. So therefore, this is what we do to China. And every company that has engagement with us, as well as with the Namibian company, we are saying we are ready to work together. But there must be value addition in all our resources, minor resources, and agriculture; we talk about agro-processing."

The Head of State's engagements began in China's industrial hub of Guangdong, where she held talks with provincial leaders and the business community in Guangzhou and Shenzhen before travelling to Chengdu and later to Beijing for bilateral talks with President Xi.

The two leaders facilitated the signing of agreements on shared development and the paired hospital cooperation mechanism.

Memoranda of Understanding were also signed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the fields of Technical and Vocational Education and Training, green minerals, and the joint implementation of the 2026 Human Resources Development Cooperation Plan, as well as cooperation between China Media Group and the Namibia Tourism Board.

In addition, the two countries facilitated the signing of a protocol on Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Fresh Table Grapes from Namibia to China for greater access to Chinese markets.

"I'm even happy that we have signed an agreement that will pave a way for us to sell our agricultural product to China. China is a big market. And we talk about the issue to come and set up manufacturing here so that we can benefit from the zero tariff that China is giving to some African countries. And I'm really looking forward to that to be done. The Namibian companies, those who attended, those who have gone up, they visit; they introduce their partners to me and to the leadership, and we emphasise that now that we are working as a team, it must be a real partnership. It will not be in balance on one side. And now it's up to these Namibians to make sure that the real value addition that we are talking about follows and that we are going to monetise."

Furthermore, a letter of exchange was concluded to facilitate the visit of a Chinese expert group to Namibia to conduct a feasibility study for Phase Two of the China-aided Satellite Ground Data Receiving Station and Processing System project.

The two sides also finalised the minutes of the on-site inspection and discussion meeting on the feasibility study for the proposed Namibian Smart City Pilot Project.